Speed festival set to thrill

EXCITEMENT is building around the upcoming Windhoek Motor Club (WMC) Speed Festival.

At least 60 high-performance cars from South Africa, Angola and Namibia are expected to join the event.

Richard Slamet from the WMC says preliminary indications are that South Africa will send at least 30 cars, while Angola will send around 10 vehicles.

Host Namibia will have 20 cars at the event.

“The dates will be 22 and 23 September, with the qualifying races on the 22nd and the main races the next day at the Tony Rust Racetrack,” Slamet says.

Some drag races will be featured on the Friday.

Meanwhile, Adriaan Nel, who races frequently in Angola, says Namibians should prepare to see vehicles unheard of on local soil.

One such car is the Radical SR3, which weighs less than 500kg.

The aerodynamic downforce allows cornering acceleration of up to 2G-force at high speed.

“Running full slicks and being powered by a 1 600 stroked Suzuki Hayabusa engine producing 181kW to the wheels, and a full sequential gearbox, the Radical is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 in just 3,1 seconds, with a top speed of 240km/h,” Nel says.

The predicted lap time around the Tony Rust Racetrack is about 64 seconds.

Another beast expected to make its debut at the venue is the not-so-ordinary Mini Classic of Illidio Cardoso.

This car, fitted with a Suzuki GSXR 1 000cc motorcycle engine, will keep the audience on their feet and will be talked about long after the races end, Nel says.

This “madness on wheels” is capable of going from zero to 100km/h in three seconds, with a top speed of 270km/h.

The only features that are standard on this Mini are the door frames, bonnet and roof, Nel says.

The participating cars from South Africa are just as impressive, with Ford Mustangs, BMW Clubmans, some Ford Anglias and Escorts to feature.

The event is sponsored by M+Z Motors.